Live Streaming

           

As you know, last Sunday our parish, along with many others, “live-streamed” Sunday Mass.  Ours was at 9:30 in the morning, to split the difference between our two regular Mass times.

            Live-streaming is remarkably easy to do, and in our case the “stream” goes to our parish Facebook page.  About 100 “devices” were connected at any given time, which could mean one person per smartphone, tablet, or computer, or perhaps 2 or more...

            Anyone can watch the live stream by clicking on the link we provided.  (We’ll send it to everyone each week in advance.). But Facebook members can also comment and “like” or “love” or send other “emojis” during the stream.

            For a first-time effort, the stream went pretty well.  The sound was just barely ok, and we have fixed that for this week, but it looked just fine. People watched from Indiana, Florida, and Arizona, plus all around our part of Michigan.  Remarkable!

            All of this has me thinking about the Liturgy, about how we gather to celebrate the Eucharist.  No one could have imagined the events of the last few weeks, or the next several.  No one would have believed that Easter Masses would be cancelled, ever, not in a million years.... 

            The Liturgy — the name means ‘the work of the people” — is something we DO, together.  It’s not meant to be watched without participation.  My entire adult life has been spent with that principle in mind... yet here we are, with two choices:  either people watch without being present, or there is no connection among us at all, until this is over.

            Yet in spite of how truly abnormal this situation is, I found the live stream experience somewhat comforting and uplifting.  While the camera (which is my iPhone) is rolling, comments appear from people who are watching.   Many of these were actually the Mass responses, including greetings of peace, and some thank-you’s for the live stream.

             As a liturgist and liturgical musician, I’ve been thinking about how this experience might shape us as a worshipping community in the future — what will it be like when we gather once again in our church and celebrate the Eucharist together...?  Will our in-person greetings be as tender and heartfelt as those sent in the comments to the video...?  Will we say, aloud, “it’s so good to be here?”  Will we delight in the opportunity to be together, and in every other person who gathers here?  That will be the lemonade we might make from the lemons that this virus has given us...

            Next week, we look ahead to the celebration of Holy Week without actually being together.   For many, this could be a first-time experience of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, or the Easter Vigil.  I hope we will grow as a result of this sacrifice, and that this will be an unexpected source of special graces and blessings from the God we strive to honor with our praise.  Be well!